It’s always good to know when to throw in the towel. But it’s a little late on this one.
And now a bombshell resignation rumor has rattled Washington, D.C.
Jake Sullivan Reportedly Offered Resignation After Afghanistan Withdrawal, According to Report
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly offered to step down from President Biden’s administration following the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, according to a report by The Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.
Ignatius, who has been speaking with Sullivan and other key figures as the Biden administration winds down, detailed the fallout from the disastrous withdrawal that claimed the lives of 13 American service members and paved the way for the Taliban’s swift return to power.
Sources close to Sullivan told Ignatius that he offered his resignation after the debacle, but President Biden urged him to remain in his role.
The episode reportedly created tension within Biden’s national security team, including a notable rift between Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Ignatius observed that the withdrawal “broke the early comity” of Biden’s national security apparatus, further exposing cracks in what was initially promoted as a unified team.
Reflecting on the withdrawal, Sullivan told Ignatius:
“You cannot end a war like Afghanistan, where you’ve built up dependencies and pathologies, without the end being complex and challenging. The choice was: Leave, and it would not be easy, or stay forever.”
Sullivan defended the decision, framing it as a necessary step to allow the U.S. to refocus its resources.
“Leaving Kabul freed the [United States] to deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in ways that might have been impossible if we had stayed,” he argued.
Despite Sullivan’s eventual alignment with Biden’s plan, the report revealed that the Pentagon initially resisted the president’s push for a full troop withdrawal, advocating instead for maintaining a residual force of 2,500 in Kabul.
Sullivan reportedly shared these concerns early on, but ultimately worked to “loyally” execute Biden’s directive.
Adding another layer of complexity, Alex Ward, a national security reporter for the Wall Street Journal and author of The Internationalists, highlighted that advisers he interviewed for his book said no one in the administration had formally offered to resign over the Afghanistan situation.
The White House and National Security Council have so far declined to comment on the matter.
Toward the conclusion of his interview with Ignatius, Sullivan evaluated his tenure with a mix of optimism and resolve.
“Are our alliances stronger? Yes. Are our enemies weaker? Yes. Did we keep America out of war? Yes. Did we improve our strategic position in the competition with China while stabilizing the relationship? Yes. Did we strengthen the engines of American economic and technological power? Yes,” he said.
This latest revelation casts a spotlight on the internal dynamics of an administration still grappling with the political and strategic fallout from one of its most controversial decisions.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
